Consulate General of the Philippines Frankfurt

FILIPINO PROFESSOR STIRS INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE WITH GERMAN ACADEME THROUGH HER LECTURE ON PHILIPPINE CLOTHING AND NATIONALISM

4 December 2019 – In line with the recently signed agreement between the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt and the Ruhr University Bochum to promote Philippine studies, Professor Stephanie Marie Coo delivered an engaging lecture on Philippine clothing and nationalism entitled, ‘Clothing and Nationalist Literature in Nineteenth century Colonial Philippines’ before the research fellows and professors of Ruhr University on 3 December 2019 in Bochum, Germany.

The lecture, which focused on clothing in the context of nineteenth century Philippine colonial life and the role of clothing in Jose Rizal’s Noli me tangere and El Filibusterismo, stirred intellectual discussion with the audience. Professor Coo expounded on what clothes revealed about nineteenth century economy, gender and class relations and how Rizal used clothing in his novels to address racial, gender and class hierarchies. She also explained her analysis on clothed Philippine “types” (tipos filipinos), clothing advertisements, periodicals and Rizal’s personal letters to better understand the nationalist struggle in the late Spanish colonial era.

Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia, who was present during the lecture along with Vice Consul Fatima Mueller, expressed hope that Professor Coo’s meaningful discussion would spark further interest in Philippine culture and studies. She also indicated that other Filipino professors could be given a chance to deliver lectures on various topics at the University.

Professor Coo is a Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellow based in Granada, Spain. After competing her PhD in History, summa cum laude, at Université Nice Sophia Antipolis in France, she returned to the Ateneo de Manila University as Assistant Professor at the Department of History, Chair of the Internationalization Committee and Coordinator for Internationalization of the Loyola Schools. Her first book, Clothing the Colony: Nineteenth century Philippine Sartorial Culture, 1820-1896, was recently launched in October 2019.
The event is the first occasion where a Filipino professor has delivered such lecture at the German University. The activity forms part of the Consulate’s efforts to promote Philippine culture and the life and works of Dr. Jose Rizal under its Sentro Rizal lecture series. END

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL IN FRANKFURT’S CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SERVES AS BACKDROP FOR MEETING OF WOMEN CONSULS GENERAL WITH THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S CLUB OF FRANKFURT

26 November 2019 – The Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt hosted an afternoon tea with the women Consuls General in Frankfurt in order to promote closer ties as well as start its engagement with the International Women’s Club (IWC). The event coincided with the launching of the Consulate’s 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women, which started on 25 November.

During the meeting, Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia underscored the Consulate General’s common goal with IWC in promoting cultural understanding among peoples of different nations.

In her remarks, IWC President Roseann Padula, who is a lawyer by profession, noted that more than 500 women from 50 nations in Frankfurt have cultivated friendships and engaged socially in the IWC for over 70 years. Ms. Padula underscored that the organization hosts  talks/discussions on a variety of topics such as animal and human health connections, bridges in films, urban development, language and culture, among others. She added that she looks forward to collaborating with the Consulates General in Frankfurt on common interests.

The Consul General took the opportunity to talk about the Philippines’ 18-day Campaign to End  Violence Against Women (VAW). A video on Philippine efforts to address VAW was presented at the event, which impressed the guests. A meaningful exchange followed on Philippine initiatives to end VAW.

The event was attended by women Consuls General/officers from Argentina, Belgium, France, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Kosovo, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand. An assortment of Philippine delicacies comprised of puto pao, lumpia, ube cream puff, mango mousse, buko pandan and selected PHL teas were served to the delight of the attendees.

Prior to the event, the Consul General served as the guest of honor during the monthly gathering of the IWC on 13 November 2019 at the Hotel Intercontinental.

The Consulate General intends to take active part in IWC activities and to hold a cultural event in cooperation with IWC in line with its cultural diplomacy efforts and gender and development activities next year. END

Shown above are applicants during Frankfurt PCG’s consular outreach in Munich, held at the Pullach Community Hall on 22 November 2019.

25 November 2019 – The Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt held its fourth consular outreach mission for the year in Munich, Bavaria last November 22.  The outreach mission was undertaken in cooperation with Dr. Stefan Detig, Philippine Honorary Consul for Bavaria, who secured the use of the community hall of Pullach, the municipality where he previously served as mayor, as venue for the outreach.  Deputy Consul General Emil Fernandez headed the team, with Administrative Officer Bayani Sibug and Consular Assistants Lolit Balansag, Dona Mallari and Violeta Bautista as members.  Mr. Rene Mangune of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office attended to labor-related concerns and accepted applications for OWWA membership.

Left photo shows Mr. Bayani Sibug and Ms. Susan Gonzales processing consular documents, while Ms. Violeta Bautista (hidden) and Ms. Dona Mallari, right photo, capture the biometric data of passport applicants.

Bavaria is home to the largest number of Filipinos in Germany.  According to latest figures, there are 4,700 Filipinos living and working in the state, comprising 19 percent of the country’s total.  Many of the Filipinos in Bavaria are married to German nationals, with professionals also present in the engineering, information technology and healthcare sectors.  (END)

https://frankfurtpcg.de/1140-2

2019 18-DAY CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (VAW)

18 Things that We Can Do to Help End VAW Woman/Girl

  1. Empower yourself. Know your rights and available courses of actions in case these rights are violated.
  2. Speak out and report to the authorities in case your rights are violated.
  3. Encourage others to fight for their rights. Man/Boy
  4. Respect women and girls in your home, workplace, and community.
  5. Join male groups promoting Anti-VAW efforts and participate in discussions to broaden your awareness on the advocacy.
  6. Enlighten/advise perpetrators to seek help and join the male Anti-VAW supporters. Government Agencies
  7. Equip yourselves with apt trainings and capacity development sessions to improve service delivery for your clients.
  8. Develop monitoring and evaluation strategy to assess the service to your clients supporters.
  9. Let people know that you provide the services! We need to inform the public that there are government offices that they can turn to and trust to assist them towards healing and seeking justice. Barangay
  10. Ensure that your Barangay VAW Desk is functional. You can use the Barangay VAW Desk Handbook developed by PCW and DILG with partner agencies to guide you on what to do.
  11. Establish linkages with local and national government agencies, as well as other organizations near your barangay where you can refer victim-survivors of VAW for needed assistance which the barangay is not able to provide.
  12. Promote harmonious family and community relationships in your barangay which is grounded on mutual respect for human rights, and take proactive steps to attain a VAW-free community. Private Sector
  13. Support the Anti-VAW efforts of the government and your immediate community.
  14. Establish your own Action Desks where employees and clients can go to in case VAW happens.
  15. Develop internal rules to proactively ensure that your workplace is VAW-free. Academe/Training Institutions.
  16. Include concepts of VAW and women’s human rights in lesson plans/lesson guides of your teaching staff
  17. Continually conduct/spearhead anti-VAW advocacies in your campus, and if possible, to your immediate community through extension programs.
  18. Setup a Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) where students and employees can seek help.

Consul General Evelyn Austria-Garcia participated in the 24th General Assembly of the Consular Corps of Deutschland (CCD) in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg last November 15 and 16. The two-day event included activities with high-level officials of the State Parliament, Justice and Economic Ministries, and City Government, notably Deputy State Parliament President Sabine Kurtz, Minister of Justice and European Affairs Guido Wolf, Ministerial Director Helmfried Meinel of the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy, and Stuttgart City Mayor Dr. Ing. Martin Schairer. Founded in 1995, CCD is the nationwide association of honorary and professional consuls of all sending states in Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://frankfurtpcg.de/1095-2

13 November 2019- Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia, serves as the guest of honor during the monthly gathering of the prestigious International Women’s Club e.V. (IWC) at the Hotel Intercontinental. The Consul General hopes that the Consulate could explore possible areas of collaboration with IWC in the future. Both organization share the common goal of cultural understanding.

 

https://frankfurtpcg.de/1074-2